Cyclone Men Up To 5th; Women 3rd in Midwest Region

Courtesy: cyclones.com

Release: 10/07/2013

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NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Iowa State men’s cross country team leaped to fifth in the latest United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches of America (USTFCCCA) regional poll after taking fifth place at the Lehigh Paul Short Run Saturday. The Cyclones were previously ranked 12th in the Midwest region.

The move in the poll makes Iowa State the third-highest ranked Big 12 member in the Midwest region, behind only Oklahoma State (1st) and Oklahoma (3rd). The Cyclones jumped ahead of conference rival Kansas (6th).

Iowa State is coming off an impressive showing at the Paul Short Run, placing all five scorers in the top 15-percent of the field. The 47-team, 397-individual field is one of the largest in the nation and featured highly ranked teams from both Division I and Division II, including headliners Indiana, the top ranked team in the Great Lakes region, and Georgetown, No. 2 in the Mid-Atlantic region.

The Cyclones were one of five teams to have three runners cross the finish line in the top 35. Mohamed Hrezi and Martin Coolidge paced the Cyclones, finishing 22nd and 26th respectively. Alex Dillenbeck (35th), Brian Llamas (46th) and Tyler Jermann (59th) rounded out the Iowa State scoring effort.

The Cyclones ran as a pack, running the tightest spread (25 seconds) of any team finishing in the top 15. Only Duquesne (16th) ran a tighter group, finishing all runners within a 19 second window.

After the off-week, the Iowa State women held at 3rd in the Midwest.

The USTFCCCA regional polls are released on Monday mornings. National polls are released on Tuesdays. For the complete USTFCCCA release, click here.

Iowa State will be back in action on Oct. 19 at the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational in Madison, Wis.